Never Forget
by Precischan
Summary: Umm...shortie story about one of my pet's, Yukiko's, view on recent events in Neopia... R&R!


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All right, Neopets fanfiction! Yay! Okay, so here's a story I just wrote based on certain events in Neopia. I don't own Neopets itself, of course, but I do own my Neopets: Hiko_FlashFlame, Yukiko_SnowStar, and Melodi_Senritsu. Hiko's a female Skunk Usul, Yukiko's a female Striped Shoyru, and Melodi's a female Blue Cybunny. They're all so kawaii-iiiii!!! …Oh, right, the story… here we go…

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"I don't see why we have to keep coming back here," Hiko FlashFlame muttered irritably as she leaned against the railing of the small boat, her pale blue eyes filled with annoyance. "It's not like we actually knew anybody who lived there, let alone…"

"We weren't around while King Coltzan was alive, yet you still insist on visiting his shrine practically every day," observed Yukiko SnowStar quietly.

"W-well, that's… that's different," Hiko argued lamely.

Yukiko just looked at her for a moment, and the skunk Usul let out an aggravated sigh, realizing she had been defeated. Crossing her arms, Hiko decided to simply turn around and glare out at the ocean surrounding them instead: at least the water couldn't argue with her…

Seeing her slightly elder sister turn away with a humph, Yukiko allowed a faint smile of amusement to flicker briefly on her lips. The little striped Shoyru always thought it was a little funny how often Hiko tended to end up defeating herself with her own logic…

Despite the differences in their breeds, the two still were close sisters: in fact, they were practically twins… although not in an official sense. They had been born mere hours apart from each other, thanks to a strange twist of fate. Their owner and mother – who actually tended to act more like a big sister most of the time – had not originally been planning to get two pets so quickly, but when she had received 10,000 Neopoints her very first time at the Fruit Machine… Well, as part of the celebration, she had chosen to go ahead and adopt Yukiko.

Personality wise, they differed greatly as well. Hiko longed to be a great fighter, and while her experiences in the Battledome thus far had been… somewhat disappointing to the young Usul, she still refused to give up. She was absolutely determined to make a name for herself, and a few defeats were not about to dampen her spirit in any way.

Yukiko recalled clearly what had occurred immediately after her elder sister's last fight: Hiko had been misfortunate enough to encounter an opponent armed with a Frost Cannon, and gotten frozen solid, then blown away. Immediately after the almost painfully short fight had ended, the Shoyru had rushed to her sister's side, and found the Usul picking shards of ice out of her ruffled fur.

"Okay… now I know another thing they can do," she overheard Hiko mutter to herself, then the Usul had looked up to see Yukiko and… smiled. Just grinned brightly, as if she hadn't just been beaten up mere moments before.

"Heya, sis! Guess it's back to the Healing Springs again for me this time round, eh?"

Yukiko shook her head slightly, amazed. How could her sister be so comfortable with such a lifestyle? Getting completely thrashed by a stronger Neopet, then bounce back and act like it was no big deal…? That was something the little Shoyru could never picture herself doing. She was more comfortable with simply playing and finding new books to read, thank you very much… leave the fighting to others.

Their new baby sister, Melodi Senritsu, appeared to share Yukiko's opinion: the little blue Cybunny was perfectly content to play with her plushies and other dolls, and with her elder siblings whenever she had the chance. Out of their little family, only Hiko seemed to enjoy the lure of the Battledome…

Still, Yukiko couldn't help but see another point to her sister's learning to fight better. She'd read a lot about Neopia's history, and knew that there had been more than a few times that its inhabitants had been forced to fight for its future… and how there were still those that threatened the peace even now…

…Like, for example, the infamous Doctor Sloth. She knew all too well how the evil being had played a major role in the most recent crisis, when some young Neopians had been trapped in a lift for hours by one of his old programs. Like so many others, she and her family had struggled to piece together a way to rescue the poor children, and while Yukiko was grateful they had finally managed to free them, she was all too aware of the fact that things could have gone differently…

The doctor had known all about the crisis, of course. And he had found the whole thing amusing. _Amusing!_ The thought chilled Yukiko to the bone: how could any sane being watch a group of four children slowly suffocate in a stuck elevator and find it amusing?!? He had to be absolutely insane…

The little Shoyru suppressed the urge to shudder, glancing over to where Melodi was idly playing with one of her Cybunny plushies, picturing her baby sister in such a situation and wondering how anyone could stand such a horrible thing. Doctor Sloth was a total madman, and if he ever succeeded with any of his plots, someone as innocent as her sisters might pay the price…

The boat abruptly puttered to a stop, and Yukiko looked up to see that they had arrived at their destination. Setting down her book gently on her seat, the Shoyru picked up the bundle of flowers that had been sitting next to her. Walking over to where her two sisters were standing, she quietly handed each of them an equal amount of the blossoms.

Melodi looked down at the tiny bundle of White Lulus and Blossoms cradled in her paws in confusion, pink eyes wide. Hiko's expression was unreadable, her pale blue eyes glittering faintly in the sunlight, yet she held her flowers just as delicately and carefully as her two younger sisters. Yukiko smiled gently at her, bright blue eyes shining with understanding.

"A gigantic whirlpool, some ten miles in diameter, continually spins here above the site of the once proud city of Maraqua," their guide's solemn voice sounded clearly above the rush of water. "Nobody knows who or what caused it, or if it is ever going to stop. One thing is for certain and that is Maraqua is no more. Its buildings destroyed, its inhabitants lost, and its treasures and riches forever strewn across the sea bed."

Melodi blinked again, already huge pink eyes seeming to get larger with shock, and she glanced up at her elder sisters. Neither one spoke, but Yukiko gave the young Cybunny a reassuring, yet faintly sad smile in order to calm her. The trio of sisters gazed out at the raging water in silence for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

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An entire city, lost… I can't help but feel that Doctor Sloth must be involved somehow, Yukiko mused, blue eyes solemn as they reflected the swirling ocean before her. _And even if he somehow wasn't the cause, how can whatever made this happen possibly be anything good for Neopia…?_

Silently, Yukiko raised her arms and gently tossed her bundle of flowers into the whirlpool, her sisters following her example a few seconds later. They watched as the delicate blossoms were swept into the swirling water, a simple offering in remembrance of the city that once had been, a city neither of the trio had been able to see in their short lifetimes.

Soon, the flowers had vanished completely, yet Yukiko continued to stare at the whirlpool, even as their guide began to carefully ease the boat away. Melodi glanced up at her elder sister in concern, but Hiko simply placed a paw on the young Cybunny's shoulder and guided her back to the middle of the ship. Dimly, the striped Shoyru overheard the Usul start blabbing about her latest bout of training, and once again smiled in amusement at her sister.

Yet her shimmering blue eyes remained locked on the whirlpool as they drew farther and farther away, and as it faded into the distance, she sent up a silent prayer for all those who had been lost.

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…Hiko may get her wish someday soon… We may end up having to fight against whatever caused this…

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Okay, so what did you think? I hoped you liked it a lot!

Hiko: Urgh… boring… Why'd you have to focus on Yuki-chan so much?!? And I didn't even get to fight anything…

Yukiko: Oh, it wasn't that bad. You can't be fighting all the time, you know…

Hiko: Says you. I can fight ALL THE TIME, 'cause I'm gonna be a CHAMPION…

Yukiko: …When you stop freezing up during your fights.

Hiko: …Okay, that's just mean…

…Well, anyway, please review and leave your comments! Feedback is good…

Hiko: Hey, tell her to let me fight more! …And does anyone know any male Usuls…? I haven't seen any at all 'cept for that one in the lift… Hmmm… wonder if he's available…

Melodi: 'Vailible for what…?

Yukiko: …Doesn't matter, Hiko-chan, I don't think they allow us Neopians to date on the site yet…

Hiko: …Not YET, but… can't blame a girl for wanting to be prepared…


End file.
